Read Deuteronomy 24
24 If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, 2 and if after she leaves his house she becomes the wife of another man, 3 and her second husband dislikes her and writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, or if he dies, 4 then her first husband, who divorced her, is not allowed to marry her again after she has been defiled. That would be detestable in the eyes of the Lord. Do not bring sin upon the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.
5 If a man has recently married, he must not be sent to war or have any other duty laid on him. For one year he is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married.
6 Do not take a pair of millstones—not even the upper one—as security for a debt, because that would be taking a person’s livelihood as security.
7 If someone is caught kidnapping a fellow Israelite and treating or selling them as a slave, the kidnapper must die. You must purge the evil from among you.
8 In cases of defiling skin diseases, be very careful to do exactly as the Levitical priests instruct you. You must follow carefully what I have commanded them. 9 Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam along the way after you came out of Egypt.
10 When you make a loan of any kind to your neighbor, do not go into their house to get what is offered to you as a pledge. 11 Stay outside and let the neighbor to whom you are making the loan bring the pledge out to you. 12 If the neighbor is poor, do not go to sleep with their pledge in your possession.13 Return their cloak by sunset so that your neighbor may sleep in it. Then they will thank you, and it will be regarded as a righteous act in the sight of the Lord your God.
14 Do not take advantage of a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether that worker is a fellow Israelite or a foreigner residing in one of your towns.15 Pay them their wages each day before sunset, because they are poor and are counting on it. Otherwise they may cry to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin.
16 Parents are not to be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their parents; each will die for their own sin.
17 Do not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. 18 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this.
19 When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. 20 When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time.Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. 21 When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow.22 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this.
Go Deeper
Deuteronomy 24 covers laws regarding marriage and divorce, ceremonial laws, and consideration for people in need. God is reminding the Israelites towards the end of this chapter of the ways that He has been faithful to them, so they are to serve others in the same way.. Verses 19-22 address the idea of not gleaning a field, but leaving it for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. To glean means to pick up, collect, or gather. This was Israel’s welfare system. They were to leave the edges of their fields unharvested in order to protect and provide for the poor and vulnerable. Leviticus 19:9-10 says, “When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigners. I am the Lord your God.” People would pick up the leftover grain and fallen olives and grapes in order to provide for themselves.
Moses is reminding the Israelites of these gleaning laws for a few reasons. The first is that God values and blesses generosity towards the poor and defenseless (v. 19). Second, the Israelities are being reminded of how they were once slaves in the land of Egypt (v. 22). They were to care for the oppressed, because they were once oppressed. The Lord commanded them to do this as an act of obedience. Additionally, this command reveals God’s heart for the widow, the orphan, and the helpless. He advocates on our behalf and calls us to do the same for others. This is also symbolic of how we are all helpless in a spiritual sense. Romans 5:6 says, “At just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.” Apart from Him, we can do nothing (John 15:5). We need to turn to Jesus for our help, because He is our only hope.
This law is later applied in the book of Ruth and is important in the storyline. Ruth, who was a poor widow, was generously allowed to glean the fields of a Judahite man named Boaz. Boaz was so moved by her loyalty to her mother-in-law that he instructed the harvesters to go beyond the law in order to help her. In Ruth 2:15-16, Boaz says “Let her gather among the sheaves and don’t reprimand her. Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke her.” The reaping in the fields led to romance and redemption for Ruth. Boaz made her his wife, while providentially preserving the Abrahamic line as her Kinsman-Redeemer.
A Kinsman-Redeemer was a male relative who had the responsibility to act on behalf of a person who was in danger or in need (Leviticus 25:25). This idea of preserving the family line is outlined in the next chapter (Deuteronomy 25). Ruth, a Gentile, is in the genealogy of Jesus, and Boaz, the Kinsman-Redeemer, points to Christ. To redeem means to “buy out.” Christ is the one who paid the price for our redemption. He paid for our sins on the cross, and as believers we have been redeemed from sin and its eternal consequences. As a result of our redemption and freedom in Christ, we are to live in a way that reflects that. Our actions should evidence the faith we profess. James puts it this way: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27). We are called to serve others with our lives. We serve not to receive something, but because we have already received everything in Christ.
Questions
- What is something you learned from reading this chapter?
- How have you seen God’s redemption in your own life?
- What is one way you can serve someone today?
Keep Digging
Interested in learning more about the role of the Kinsman-Redeemer throughout scripture? Check out this helpful article from GotQuestions.org.
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4 thoughts on “Deuteronomy 24”
Remembering and compassion
These are a series of laws that help you understand to Love God and love people. Why? Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God set you free; that is why I have given you this command. Deuteronomy 24:18 GNB. The person that was in need, without , and spiritual dead was YOU before Christ so be kind, speak about where you were and how God redeemed you. Are you remembering your former life as you minister to those in need?
Remember
God adopted us into His family as His own through the blood of Christ.
God thank You for Your compassion on me. Thank You for me, remembering that I am free but at great cost to You. God help me to see others through Your love goggles. Thank You for knowing how and when to give monetarily and/or when to give love, patiences, kindness, gentleness and self control. God thank You for Your words coming out of my mouth. Thank You for helping me to remember scripture correctly so that I am giving whomever correct and godly words. Thank You for sending Your son and that He was willing to die for me. Thank you for remembering all of the costs. God I place all my minutes of this day into Your hands. Give me joy and glory effervesing and overflowing in Your love towards You and then others today in these minutes of this day in Jesus name amen
WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
14 “Do not take advantage of a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether that worker is a fellow Israelite or a foreigner residing in one of your towns.”
Much of this chapter is focused on treating people fairly who are in a vulnerable power position. So important to remember.
Throughout this chapter, there seems to be an overall theme of serving one another in relationships, whether in close or casual ones. It was God’s kindness to set guidelines for his people to follow and thrive, as righteous living mattered most to him. Colossians 3:17 reminds us that,”whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
vs 10 When you make a loan of any kind to your neighbor, do not go into their house to get what is offered to you as a pledge. 11 Stay outside and let the neighbor to whom you are making the loan bring the pledge out to you. 12 If the neighbor is poor, do not go to sleep with their pledge in your possession.13 Return their cloak by sunset so that your neighbor may sleep in it. Then they will thank you, and it will be regarded as a righteous act in the sight of the Lord your God.
Simply put, love and care for one another.